Florida Learjet crash: NTSB says the plane began breaking up before impact

Investigators are examining the cause of the crash of a Learjet 60 business jet on Sunday 1 November 2026 in Palm Beach County, Florida. According to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), there are indications that the aircraft began to break apart before it struck the ground.

What is known about the crash

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the plane was flying from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas to the Bahamas. It came down beside a road, near a mobile home estate, about 6.5 km south of West Palm Beach airport. All nine people on board died. The impact left a large crater, and wreckage was scattered over a wide area.

About 600 residents of nearby homes had to leave them or use temporary shelter. Heavy rain is hampering the investigators' work.

Conditions before the crash

According to the Associated Press, cited by the Polish daily Rzeczpospolita, the crew reported icing and turbulence before the crash. The pilots asked air traffic controllers to point them to an area with better conditions and for permission to climb to 37,000 feet (about 11.3 km).

Investigators are looking at both the weather and the technical condition of the jet. They are also checking whether the cockpit voice recorder can be recovered, which could help reconstruct the final minutes of the flight.

The victims

The families of the victims confirmed the identities of seven passengers in a joint statement. Among the dead was Adam Robinson with his family. The other two victims were members of the crew.

Where the investigation stands

The cause of the crash has not yet been established. The NTSB is investigating together with the FAA. The finding that the aircraft broke up in the air is so far a preliminary one, and investigators' full conclusions usually take much longer to emerge.